Sex abuse scandal is taking its toll on how we're perceived elsewhere

Cornwall Standard Freeholder

04 March 2008

Posted By David Nesseth

Cornwall: no jobs, lots of pedophiles.

Certainly this is an unfair statement for any city, but is it the growing perception across the province? The Cornwall Public Inquiry has returned to the headlines of major dailies with the recent legal problems of Perry Dunlop, the man who helped spark the local child sex abuse inquiry, and the only other stories Toronto or Montreal readers have read are likely about the city's manufacturing woes or job losses.

An article released by the Canadian Press just yesterday (see sidebar) says "Cornwall is clearly a city in need of renewal."

So, the Standard-Freeholder took to the streets to get your thoughts, or at least those of your fellow Cornwallites, as to what it's like to live, work, play and raise a family here in Bordertown, Ont.

"It's spring, it's beautiful, the sun is shining, how can you not find this a great place to live?" chimed resident Paul Lemieux, 59, a criminal duty counsel.

"The inquiry will end and Domtar closing is the best thing to ever happen to this town," he added.

No longer is Cornwall regarded as the "smelly, dirty" milltown it once was, Lemieux said. It just needs the right people, "locally and politically" (though he believes Mayor Bob Kilger is doing a good job) to step on the accelerator and attract new businesses. Then, he said, Cornwall's economy will take care of itself.

"It's a good place to live, but it could be better," explained Lemieux.

"There's still an element of bigotry and a lunch pail mentality, but that's improving."

Mark Sabados, 39, moved his wife and two kids from Hamilton to Cornwall for a job at a major warehouse. He's found the city to be much safer than Hamilton or Toronto, with less drugs, if you don't count the smuggling, he said.

That said, he feels the city needs a wakeup call, or unfair labels like no jobs, lots of pedophiles, may stick.

"It's like Hamilton 25 years ago," Sabados said of Cornwall. "It needs more people, more of everything. Old businesses are shut down, new businesses shut down, we need some new ways to attract people."

What about the city's history with child sex abuse? Years of inquiry testimony into what Kilger described for the Canadian Press as "a dark cloud," and a number of unrelated child pornography charges in recent years; does this paint the city unfairly?

"Every city has something like the inquiry, this one's just bigger and dragged (out) a little longer," Sabados said.

Many Cornwallites consider the city's issue with its working poor and former drug dens in the city's east end as flashpoints for debate.

"Any initiative to clean up trash - that could be garbage or people - is good," said new mother Lynn Bartsch, 32, who said she moved away to Prescott to have her baby. "When I find a (drug) needle in the park, that's not too safe."

Bartsch said her niece was about to pick up the needle in Mattice Park, but stopped her in time.

"It depends who you know, where you live," said Scott Valcourt, 19, who moved here from Ottawa. "There's the east end, the Cornwall hoodlums."

Valcourt is dating new mother Amy Quesnel, 20, who said she's enjoyed her two years in Cornwall. She grew up in nearby Avonmore.

"There's lots to do. Parks, pools, all kinds of activities. There's the new Early Years Centre. It's a good place to raise a kid," Quesnel said.

Negative stories often have an easier time grabbing national or provincial headlines, but Cornwall certainly has its share of positive stories as well.

Just last week, a local woman was honoured by the federal government with a medal of bravery and jobs are on the way in the form of a new government call centre. Cornwall's summer festivals are great, notably Lift Off, and last year the city rallied together to almost win the CBC's Hockeyville competition

"It's not a place I thought I'd like, but I do," said Monique Saumure, 43, from Ottawa.